Fortum chooses the next-generation geo Solo II display
Fortum has introduced the Solo II in-home display from Green Energy Options (geo) - the next generation of the popular geo Solo – as the new Fortum Energy Display for its customers.The display has an elegant, new slimline design and a fresh, vibrant multi-colour backlit LCD screen that presents in-home energy consumption in a clear, graphical format, together with data from up to 2 temperature sensors. The display connects to Fortum’s web portal in Sweden via geo’s energynote online platform using a USB cable.The Solo II was developed with input from Fortum’s customers as well as from customers using geo’s popular Solo and Solo PV displays & online services elsewhere in Europe to provide a state-of-the-art 2ndgeneration solution for connected home energy monitoring.The Fortum Energy Display uses an LED Reader to provide accurate readings from the modern digital meters installed in Sweden and Finland, and comes with an external temperature sensor that works alongside the integrated temperature sensor to measure ambient conditions both inside and outside the home.The Solo II is part of geo’s Connected System family of products and services that can be combined to put consumers in control of their energy. The full geo Connected System was introduced at European Utility Week in Amsterdam from 15th to 17th October 2013.The new Solo II adds the following features to the existing Fortum Solo displays:- Connection via USB to online energy services on a computer or tablet
- An “Energy Bar”, with a tick & cross showing performance against a defined energy budget
- An “Energy Stopwatch” to measure consumption over a selected time period
- Support for multiple currencies and tariffs
- The ability to measure internal & external temperature using the integrated & optional temperature sensors
The Solo II can also work with a wide variety of other existing and ‘smart’ electricity meters, using an LED meter sensor that can be easily fitted to any existing meter with an LED pulse. The transmitter can live inside or outside due to the inclusion of a handy weather proof enclosure.Fredrik Landahl, Chief Executive Officer for Fortum Markets, Sweden, comments, "The energy display gives our customers a good and direct feedback on the real time electricity consumption; creating a greater awareness as the first step in becoming more energy efficient and using electricity in a smarter way".Patrick Caiger-Smith, Chief Executive Officer for geo, continues,"The new Solo II brings an additional level of convenience by providing users with the ability to view the home energy consumption on the display or online. The display is a really important component of an energy management system as it is real time and gets looked at frequently. With a quick glance the householder can see if the home is operating as expected. This is something mobile apps don’t succeed at – people don’t start up their app just to check if anything is amiss – it’s simply not human nature to do so".